John, Thanks for sharing your memories with us. Do I remember someone obtaining the blueprints for the Mauna Loa from George Nakashima? Maybe my memory is going. Sure would be great to see a full spread layout of the interior.
_________________"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

$219.26 to be exact! (Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics anyway.) I'm guessing Dad had a few rums drinks on that bill. Then again, they were only a couple dollars each back then...

Good description of the place John. I'm amazed you remember so much considering it was 42 years ago.

It's funny what you remember, and I hope my memories of the place are fairly accurate. The Mauna Loa made a real impression on my young mind. That's why after all this time I decided to look for information on it through the Internet. My older brother says our dad took him there too. Strange how I remember what I drank that evening, but I can't remember what I ate. Probably because it was the only time I had ever had coconut milk. You remember those jungle shows on TV you saw as a kid?- where they chop off the top of a coconut to get a drink, maybe that's why I wanted to try it. I seem to remember that the drink came in a real pineapple, they chopped the top off the pineapple - hollowed it out - and put the drink in. My mother (who is still alive) remembers finding a pineapple in the fridge - probably because we never bought pineapples for anything back then, so it was memorable. And yes, I'm sure my old man kept the bartender busy that night (and then drove us home!) The good old days??

I kind of remember the Mauna Loa in the same way as I remember highlights of going to Disney world, or Expo '67 in Montreal. My Mauna Loa excursion remains one of my most cherished memories, like a dream you never want to forget. I have never experienced anything quite like it again. The Mauna Loa was a mind-blower, It still captures my imagination after all these years. Its my never ending obsessive memory. I wish things (and times) were that cool again so places like the Mauna Loa could still exist.

I remember coming home from Expo '67 with my parents and not being allowed over the border into Detroit, as the city was on fire and the riots were going on. We had to stay in Windsor Ontario for the night, when we did get over the border I remember seeing military vehicles with guns and guys who looked like they were in the army. Weird times for my young eyes.

It is funny what you remember. Its not the common place stuff, its the unusual things that stick out. The Mauna Loa being one of them, and I mean that in the most positive sense.

That's interesting about the price, and the modern valuation. I seem to remember that my Schwinn Stingray cost my dad around 50 or 60 dollars?

Uh oh! I think I see a new obsession coming on with these Mauna Loa memories and the cool stuff on this site! Next time I go to Livonia I'm going to check out Chins on Plymouth road. My own Tiki room and bar? Something to think about now for sure.

On 2010-09-13 11:24, uncle trav wrote:John, Thanks for sharing your memories with us. Do I remember someone obtaining the blueprints for the Mauna Loa from George Nakashima? Maybe my memory is going. Sure would be great to see a full spread layout of the interior.

It is my pleasure tell the story, thanks. Why did my one visit to the Mauna Loa stay in my head as such a vivid memory? I can't figure this out exactly. Oh to have a time machine. I still think that the Mauna Loa was my greatest restaurant experience of all time. That must sound crazy?Lol.

I would love to see a layout or blueprint of the Mauna Loa, to see how accurate my memory is about the way it was set up. And I would especially love to see a color photo of the bar with the waterfall behind it. I seem to remember lots of waterfalls in the place.

Newspaper clippings about the Mauna Loa in Detroit. The one story says that it started in 65/66, but I don't think this is at all correct. You can't believe everything you read in the paper as they say. But all this stuff does give a better idea of the financial difficulties going on in the city at that time, which of course affected all businesses in Detroit.

From 1970:

From 1971, the end. How long had it been closed before going into receivership I wonder?

Great find! I've been on the 'look out' for one of these ever since tikifish let me in on an ebay listing she saw many years ago. The version you found is slightly different; I agree that it definitely has a "Westwood" look to it with the angular facial features.

The version I've been searching for is has more flowing facial lines and a more detailed design of it's lid: